Sunday, February 6, 2011

Library Confessions

I probably shouldn't admit these things in public, but I am curious if other librarians have similar confessions. I have two that I am willing to share today.
1. I have not read the Harry Potter series.
2. I do not buy books.
I know, I know. I haven't read the entire Harry Potter series. I hope that I do not have my library certification stripped after someone reads this. In my defense, I have read the first two. I thought they were cute, but I just did not get attached to the characters like so many others have. I have been told that I need to read the others because they are more mature and I would probably like them better. I hesitate to read them for a few reasons. I do a lot of reading so that I can help my students find books they might like. Harry Potter needs no introduction. I never have a student that hasn't heard of it or hasn't already tried it if they like fantasy. Other books; however, need my endorsement to get into the hands of a student. I feel like I should spend time on those books instead of trying to finish the series, which let's face it is quite long. I have seen bits and pieces of the movies and now feel that I am tainted and can't read the books. I ALWAYS read the book before I see the movie and now I don't know if the book would keep my interest because I know the basics of the story from seeing parts of the movie. Maybe I can work them into my summer reading or listen to the audio in the car as a compromise.
My second confession probably sounds very strange to many librarians. Of course, I buy books at school, but I do not buy books for myself. I have one bookshelf in my living room with my 25 all time favorite books on it and that is all. One of those shelves is full of books for my son which I rotate as he grows up. I do buy books for him, but not for myself. Yet, I read probably 7 to 10 books a month depending on my schedule. I satisfy my reading habit by reading as many books from my middle school library as I possibly can and books from my local public library. My public librarian and I are friends. She has my holds waiting on me as soon as I pull into the parking lot. If I miss a few days coming in she worries about me. I think the public library is one of the greatest institutions in the history of civilization and I visit often. I learned a valuable lesson about books in college after changing dorms many times when I worked in the housing department. Books are heavy. They are difficult to move and store and I just didn't have room for tons of books. This is when I decided to stop buying books. I rarely read a book more than once and I finally admitted to myself that I was keeping books to try to prove to others that I was smart and well read. Now I go to the book store to find titles for my school library, buy for my son or buy gifts. If I see a book I want I just put it on hold at the library.

What are your library confessions?

3 comments:

  1. I too haven't read the entire Harry Potter series and I'll go even further as to say I am NOT fan of the series. I read the first one and that was enough. Hope I'm not stripped either!

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  2. Don't feel bad about HP. I, have only "read" the first four - I listened to them as audiobooks. I tried reading the first one and just couldn't get into it. Got the audio and LOVED it. Not so much for the story, although that was okay, but because of the guy reading the book - Jim Dale. I remembered Jim Dale from early Disney movies and loved him in those. He was AWESOME at reading/acting out the characters from the book and really added to the experience of "reading" the book.

    Sorry, don't share your second confession. Before moving from Columbia I had four walls w/ floor to ceiling shelves of books collected for 30 years. When I moved I got rid of about half. Since then I'm down to one 6' x 4' bookcase (give or take a stack of books here and there!) But, I'll have to confess that while I've let go of the paper books I've purchased many of the titles in ebook format!

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  3. I try not buy books either. That's why I can't really get behind the whole e-reader craze. Sure there are free books you can download, but for the majority of my reading needs I am happy going to my public library. : )

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